Now That You Love Me
by Kjminame
Summary: Inuyasha hears a strange noise coming from the forest late one night. It's melodic and intriguing, drawing Inuyasha like a moth to the flame. What or who is making this noise? And why? Oneshot.


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Now That You Love Me

**__**

For years I have found myself lost

The forest surrounding me shadowed my pain

"What is that?" Inuyasha mumbled gruffly as he leaned up from the cold earth, the dirt sticking to the back of his blood red kimono. He untangled his fingertips from behind his head and stretched his arms above him. Furrowing his light eyebrows, he sniffed the cool night air, cocking his head from side to side. His soft, white ears twitching at the distant sound that bounced melodically off the forest walls. He huffed loudly as he set his sights on the person in front of him and folded his arms in annoyance.

"Well, I can't smell anything with your stupid fire burning!" He lazily complained as Miroku covered the smoldering pot of beef ramen with a glass top. He spilled out the access water through the slit on the side, making the steam rise from the soil as the water struck it. He shook up the ramen while smiling bitterly at Inuyasha on the side of him, his eyebrows cocked up.

"Okay, so you'd rather starve then?" Miroku asked, his voice stinging with brutal sarcasm and a curve in his lips. He turned his head back casually to the blaze and chuckled, still tossing the ramen in the pan back and forth.

"Well, good thing it's a sound and not a smell. So you don't need your nose." He added with even more of a sharp bite to his tone, the firelight illuminating his cocky smirk. Inuyasha gave him a chilled glare, his ears still moving from side to side unconsciously.

"I don't need your sarcasm, monk." He growled lowly. Miroku scoffed as he set down the hot pot beside his crossed legs and picked up a small pile of twigs. He threw them into the hot flames which made burned ash to rise into the dark sky. He huffed loudly.

"Then stop whining like an infant." Miroku mumbled under his breath, even though he knew Inuyasha would hear it and probably shout over it.

As usual, Miroku was right.

Inuyasha snarled menacingly and leapt to his feet in one bound, making the earth beneath him tremble and Miroku's head snap up in response.

"I'm not acting like a baby!" He spat, loud enough to make the sound reverberate around him and echo through the black trees. Miroku grunted as he scowled him down from the soil. He had had enough of his grumpy, blaming attitude. It was time to retaliate.

"You're acting like one right now!" Miroku fought back, steadily rising to his feet with the same tone, almost knocking over his pot of newly prepared ramen with the bottom of his robe. His ocean blue eyes burned maliciously into him.

Miroku met Inuyasha's threatening stance in front of him and squared his shoulders back defensively. He held their piercing eyes in a staring match that made the fire below them seem insignificant and dull in comparison. They looked like they were about to lunge forward to rip each others throats out when a new, calmer voice broke into the tension, making them both glance down at the ground.

"What are you two yelling about?" Sango asked, her voice muffled by the blanket over her mouth. She leaned up slowly, still clutching sleeping Shippo tightly inside her arms. She gazed up at them, parts of her long, brunette hair still covering her dark, glossy eyes. Miroku's body immediately relaxed while Inuyasha's stayed firmly in place. Still annoyed as ever.

"I'm sorry, honey." He murmured while smiling tenderly down at her. She beamed back up at him while reaching up and pushing the stray hairs out of her tired face. Miroku bent down to his knees and put his palm to her warm face. He swept the rest of her hair away from her cheeks with his fingertips and kissed her forehead gently, pulling her into his chest with his hand.

"Inuyasha was being immature again." He whispered softly into her ear. Her smothered giggle rang into his shoulder as he nuzzled into the nook of her neck.

Inuyasha glowered at them, a rebuttal building in the bottom of his throat. He opened up his tight jaw to scream again but instead jumped abruptly, breaking his looming stance over them. He whirled himself around in every direction at hearing the far away resonance bellow through the wind. Jumping from side to side like a kitten with a ball of yarn.

**__**

Forever falling in the dark

Was how my heart seethed when I'd feel you near me

"It's probably just some demon, Inuyasha." Shippo yawned, leaping out from Sango's hold between her and Miroku stomachs. He stretched out his petite arms and shook his back fiercely, making the dirt that was burrowed in his ginger fur go flying off.

"Ah..." He sighed pleasantly as he glanced up at Inuyasha's alert, but brooding face. Shippo rolled his leaf green eyes and snickered.

"You worry too much." He stated in a certain tone while crossing his tiny arms. Inuyasha ignored him and inhaled a deep whiff of forest air, concentrating on the elements of each particle. He exhaled sharply after seconds of holding it in and tilted his head down towards Shippo in agitation.

"Smell the air, pipsqueak." Inuyasha mocked, but also ordered. Shippo tipped his head towards the stars without protest and swallowed a harsh breath into his lungs. He coughed it back out and looked up again at Inuyasha, his voice rough and staggered from the tingling feeling inside his chest.

"I can't smell anything. All I can smell is the burning firewood." He managed to choke out, covering his mouth with his brightly colored sleeve. Inuyasha sneered at Miroku, who was still clutching a now unconscious Sango on his lap. He could sense Inuyasha smirking at him before he even said a word out loud.

"I told you." Inuyasha arrogantly scoffed while raising an eyebrow contently.

"I never doubted you." Miroku revolted, keeping his voice quiet and low so he didn't wake her.

"All I said was it was a sound, not a smell. If you are so curious why don't you go and check it out." He suggested while massaging his fingers through the strands of Sango's hair. Inuyasha's anxious features soothed as he glanced into the dankness of the woods, contemplating Miroku's words. His snowy ears fluttered, mimicking his thinking as he stood and watched for any inch of movement. Many noiseless seconds went by before another melody filled the chilly air.

**__**

This life isn't what it once was

Fearing the worst that I've kept inside

Miroku and Shippo immediately bent their heads in the direction of the trees, narrowing their eyes to listen more closely as Inuyasha stepped forward.

**__**

Look at the stars that have come

Something within me is lifting

"It sounds like someone's singing." Miroku breathed quietly while still gazing ahead. He looked away and back up towards Inuyasha, who was still entranced in the dulcet sound.

"I think you should go check it out." He spoke louder, trying to break Inuyasha's concentration on the noise. He broke himself free and turned himself to Miroku. He nodded his head composedly.

"I think I will." He whispered as Sango rolled silently onto her side on Miroku's legs, a faint hum escaping from her lips. Miroku nodded, as well as Shippo as he sat on his knees beside him. Inuyasha tilted on his heels and spun his body back to the front of the humid fireside while letting out a shallow sigh. He half crouched down to the cold dirt and then cleared the flames as he dived into the air and disappeared into the black forest.

He skidded to halt just seconds into his stride, but already the images of his friends were distant from where he stood. Clouds of dust shot up from under his heels as he came to a quick stop.

"Okay, now my senses are clear." He panted to himself out loud as he flared his nostrils to take in more oxygen. He crunched up his nose and whipped his head from side to side angrily. Stomping on the ground with his dirt-covered, bare foot.

"Damn it. I can't smell anything." Inuyasha huffed and weakly let his lids fall over his topaz eyes. Earsplitting silence floated over the canopy of trees as he stayed motionless in the vastness of the woods. He peeked open one eye slightly, being careful not to startle anything that might scurrying by his feet. He shot glances from left to right, then shut it again once he found nothing around him was moving or making noise. He opened his eyes sharply and lifted his foot to pick back up his speed when he caught himself in place, his ears perked up to the gliding clouds. The silence was broken.

**__**

Safe in a frozen memory

But ice fades when you remember

He glanced around the dark trees hastily and in a half a second quickly stopped his movement. He pointed his head distinctly towards the North end of the woods. He crunched his eyes shut, hoping to get a clearer distinction of its exact location.

"Come on. Just one more sound." He muttered almost in a growl while staring forward piercingly, his eyes burning with anticipation. Within seconds, his soft plea was answered. His pale ears once again tightened and straightened up.

**__**

All that I am able to be

Now that you love me

"Yes." He nearly yelled as more dirt flooded the wind behind him. He sprinted past the bark of the trees, the speed of the whipping air leaving them scarred and leafless. The wet grass stained his naked feet as he slid across the soil and jumped from tree branch to tree branch, digging his sharp nails into the trunks to gain a better look ahead. He kept running, without a break and without a breath. Now he was determined to know who or what was making such a beautiful, musical sound. Someone or something that he couldn't get the scent of. Curiosity had gotten the better of him and that's what kept him running. The thrill of the chase.

**__**

The light in your eyes that shone for her

Couldn't be taken, couldn't be broken

"Come on, come on. Just a little more." He gasped for air, but refused to let it in as he continued to gain more speed from under him. The dimness of the forest had blurred together, making every shape the same as the next. He was no longer looking from side to side at every little thing that caught his eye. His mind was focused only on going North. Only going towards the noise. Unwilling to think about anything else.

**__**

Hiding behind a shaded tree

Waiting for my devoted heart to shatter

Inuyasha would never admit it on the outside, but inside, he was drawn to it. Human or demon. No matter what it was, he wanted it.

**__**

Couldn't believe that my heart could betray myself so badly

I wanted to jump back down the void

His ears stayed stiff and open, being stung by the passing wind. His lungs crashing together beneath his chest as he squinted his eyes, protecting them from the sharp, passing air.

**__**

And wait to return to normal

But something within me was lifting

"Almost there." He grunted hard, only letting the wind carry his body now. His feet barely touched the forest floor as he sprinted. The bleak woods around him had become blacker and colder as he rushed further into them, not giving any sort of backward glance. The white light of the moon vanished above him as he buried himself deeper inside the leaves, making his bright white hair the only glow that stood out among them. The spreading dankness engulfed every color around him and thwarted him from keeping his eyes tiny slits. He shot them open as wide as they could go as the voice sounded again. He was just inches away now. The darkness was growing brighter ahead.

**__**

Unthawing inside a frozen memory

Now I know you remember me

"Almost, almost." He panted almost in a whisper. Trees fluttered by him in the dozens as glowing light flooded his irises, leaving the blackness in his long and winding trail.

"Now!" He shouted as he leaped through the abyss into a realm of white, sparkling light. His claws broke through the branches of the looming trees with splitting force, hearing the cracking and the thuds they made as they beat him to crash to the ground. He was hovering in the air for what seemed like minutes, his ivory hair flowing above his head in glittering strands. He waited for himself to reach the soft, green grass that waited under him, squinting his eyes to the point of pain. The angelic light was the brightest where he floated, drowning out the vibrancy of his red kimono. Keeping him from seeing what he had almost burst his lungs apart to see. In a second, he would be able know what was luring him to this place so forcefully.

**__**

Now I can be all I wanted to be

His feet reached the soil delicately, barely making a sound as his they touched down on the coldness of the ground. He straightened up his body from his crouch and began to move forward in what felt like slow motion. He walked more hesitantly than he had intended to as he crunched the twigs under his feet that had escaped the trees above. The skin on his back began to grow icy again, the ivory light that was keeping it warm vanishing more and more with each step. His tense irises creased even smaller as the outline of a figure began to emerge from the remaining light of the moon ahead. He stared bleakly, then his eyes relaxed into a wide expression. He stopped abruptly in place, his arms freezing solid at his sides as he recognized the ebony hair that strewn down the figure's thin back. The shadow turned it's head to look at him, gripping the sides of a strange object it was sitting on. It's stunning, sapphire eyes gazing at him warmly.

**__**

Now I know that you love me

It finished it's song as a smile creased it's lips. He knew now that it was a person and he knew exactly who that person was. Her dark green skirt bellowed in the wind, along with the red bow on the front of her shirt. The scent of cherries swept into his nose and warmth flooded through his veins. He smiled back, his amber eyes brighter than the shimmering light that had him on a cloud.

"Kagome." He murmured, his arms loosening at his sides.

"Hello love." She whispered back, jumping off the side of the Bone Eater's Well and picking up her two ton yellow backpack from the ground. She walked over to where he stood, dropping the pack again as she stopped in front of him. He wrapped his arms around her waist instinctively, as she did around the nape of his neck.

"You drew me here, you know." He stated. She smiled once again, raising a dark eyebrow.

"I did?" She asked, somewhat confused, somewhat knowing.

"You did, with your voice. I've never heard you sing before, I had no idea it was you. It just makes you beautiful in one more way." He cooed while stroking her back lightly wiith his fingers. She blushed into his chest and gazed up at him, flustered.

"It was about you." She confessed, sincerely and open.

He smiled brightly at her, and she beamed up at him as she felt moisture build in her eyes. He leaned down and took her lips into a kiss, tightening his grip around her waist as her fingertips nuzzled themselves into the back of his hair.

"I love you." He whispered once they broke away. She smiled even brighter, that's all she ever wanted to hear.

"I love you too." She whispered back. That's all he ever wanted to hear.

_**Parting Words**_

**Hi guys! I have been working on the oneshot since around April. I haven't been able to write in a long time, so I figured I should finish this and post it as soon as possible. This idea, like most of mine, came to me out of nowhere. I just love Inuyasha and Kagome together, so I thought this would be cute to write. I hope you all enjoy it! Please review!**

**Great to be back,**

**Kjminame**


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